Google's advertising revenue, which accounts for the bulk of Alphabet's revenue, was $44.7 billion, up 32% year-on-year. However, this was below analysts' expectations, and the company's shares fell by around 5% in after-hours trading.

According to Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat, the company's advertising business was affected by the pandemic's ongoing impact on certain sectors of the economy, such as travel and entertainment.

Despite this, Porat said that the company's cloud business and Google Play app store performed well during the quarter, with both seeing strong growth.

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai also noted that the company is continuing to invest in new areas, such as artificial intelligence and healthcare. "We're working hard to build a more helpful Google for everyone," Pichai said in a statement.

The company's Other Bets segment, which includes projects like self-driving car company Waymo and healthcare unit Verily, reported revenue of $198 million, up from $135 million in the same period last year. However, the segment's losses widened to $1.15 billion, compared to $1.08 billion in Q1 2020.

Despite the challenges faced by its advertising business, Alphabet remains one of the world's most valuable companies, with a market capitalization of around $1.4 trillion.

Looking ahead, the company is expected to continue investing in new technologies and areas of growth, while also working to improve its core advertising business. However, with the pandemic still causing uncertainty and disruption around the world, it remains to be seen how quickly the company's advertising revenue will recover.